Numbers game Big Stat replaces Big Sam as clubs turn to metrics to find managers

It feels as if the days of sacking a manager for a run of defeats then scrolling through the Filofax to find numbers for Big Sam, Big Mick, Massive Moyesy or Huge Harry are coming to an end. There will always be a time and place for managerial heritage but clubs are increasingly mining statistics to help find the best fit for their strategy, players and even brand. In the Premier League there are no job adverts and applications will not be accepted. Instead the search will start long before the paperwork for the latest P45 begins.

- Will Unwin

Succession planning is key: knowing the top three choices to replace the person in the dugout, whether they are moving on to bigger and better things or tending to their petunias. Brighton are often the benchmark, quickly replacing Graham Potter with Roberto De Zerbi and hiring Fabian Hürzeler when the Italian departed in the summer, allowing seamless transitions. Everyone is looking to replicate the process.

“When you look at things like Brentford and Brighton, the reason, in part, that they use data so effectively is not just because they were pretty early movers in the space and they have smart people there, it's because the whole club is aligned to work along that principle,” says Alex Stewart of the sports consultancy Analytics FC. “You need to make sure that all of the relevant stakeholders, which is usually the CEO, the sporting director and the owner, want the same thing.”